Sapphires

• 1. SapphiresA brief overview of sapphires andthe mining techniques.

2. A Brief Introduction Sapphires are precious stones. Comes in many colors, Most commonly: blue, yellow,pink. Variety of the mineral Corundum. 9 Hardness. Most commonly used in jewelry. Other uses are in scientific instruments, high durabilitywindows, wrist watch crystals, very thin electronicwafers. Aluminum Oxide- trace elements of other mineralsgive it its color- iron, titanium, chromium, copper,magnesium. 3. The Logan SapphireOne of the largest Sapphires found. It was found in Sri Lanka. It is422.99 carats. 4. Sapphires come in a variety of colors 5. Locations of SapphiresSapphires can be found ina number of places. Cambodia Burma China Kashmir, India Malawi Sri Lanka Nigeria Thailand Tanzania Madagascar Canada United States Czech Republic Australia Kenya Vietnam Laos Colombia Pakastan 6. Locations of Sapphires Burmese and Kashmir are the most sought after From 1970s to 2000 Australia was the worlds largestproducer of Sapphires Madagascar is currently the worlds supplier ofSapphires Sri Lanka has produced the most large sized stones. Burma used to be one of the most desirable locationsfor Sapphires, but now few good Sapphires are beingproduced. Kashmir Sapphires are know to be the highest qualitystones, but most mining has stopped. Only sporadicmining is done. 7. Mining TechniquesTraditional Pit Mining: An example of pit mining would be when a vertical shaft is dug by hand until they have they have reached gem level. A makeshift bamboo crane is assembled. The crane is used to bring up buckets of soil to be washed and sieved. This method of mining is very dangerous and back-braking. These types of mines tend to collapse or cave in because there is nothing supporting the walls of the pit. Pit Mining is an inexpensive operation to run but it also doesnt produce a large quantity of stones. Only a few men are required to operate the mine. 8. An example of Traditional Pit Mining 9. Mining TechniquesOpen Pit Mining: Is a small operation. An area is dug to gem level by machinery. Usually about 10 feet down to start. After the initial pit is dig everything else isdone by hand in small sections and sieved. This method does not produce a largeamount of gemstones. 10. An example of Open Pit Mining 11. Mining TechniquesOpen Cast Mining: The work is seasonal This type of mining has to be done during the monsoon season, usuallyaround May to September. Large amounts of water is required to operate the hoses used to wash thesoil. A very large pit has to be dug. They use a large rotating drum with pumps and hoses. The soil is dug out with machinery and then placed on a rotating drum. Thedrum washes and separates the gravel. The gems are removed from the pit and placed on a pulsating jig. The jig isused to separates the soil from the gems. They try to minimize the environmental impact by refilling parts of the pitthat have already been mined. Gemstone production can vary greatly from day to day mostly depending onthe area being dug. 12. An example of Open Cast Mining 13. EquipmentRotating Drum Pulsating Jig 14. END